How Natsume Came To Love Valentine's Day
by YumenoAkuma
Summary: Natsume found a new day to look forward to. Warning: Shounen-ai. Pairing: Tanuma/Natsume.


Valentine's Day never belonged in the list of things Natsume looked forward to. Ever since he was little, he didn't have any friend let alone a girl to get chocolate from. Thus the chocolate left at the bottom of the front door and the shuffling form of a youkai as she tried to hide from him came as a surprise.

The surprise didn't end there. There was a chocolate in his shoes locker – _Don't be so stingy and tell me about __them__ already - Sasada_ – and another one on his table – _Thank you for your help the other day -Taki_. By the time the lunch break ended, Natsume had 4 chocolates piling up in his bag. The last one from a kouhai he didn't even know and will never know considering that she ran away before he can even say thank you

"Woah, you sure are popular Natsume! Four chocolates already! I didn't know you had it in you." Kitamoto's teasing voice came from the direction of his bag.

It was a self-study period and his two friends, Kitamoto and Nishimura, didn't waste any time before inspecting Natsume's bag despite Natsume's protest.

"Hee?! This is from… Sasada?" Nishimura exclaimed, his eyes immediately scanned the class for the mentioned girl.

Natsume didn't think Sasada's face can go anymore redder than it already is after Nishimura's loud exclaim and before he knew it, a thick mathematic text book flew and hit Nishimura right in the face.

"Ow, that hurts!" Nishimura rubbed his wounded nose. "Hey Natsume. What is Sasada's note about?"

The question took Natsume by surprised. "Ah… that… that was…" he stuttered, racking his brain for a sensible answer.

"Hey, isn't Taki that new girl? You got a chocolate from her too?" Kitamoto's question had never felt more welcomed to Natsume. Oblivious to the dilemma Natsume's experienced, Kitamoto distracted Nishimura with the subject of Taki.

"No way! Natsume, I thought we're friends. You know I like her!" Nishimura's wails were merely the start of a long period of teasing and playful banter of the three friends.

Surrounded by Nishimura's loud wail, Kitamoto's barrage of questions and Sasada's flying textbook, Natsume grew to like Valentine's Day… only a little bit. It wasn't until later that day however, that Natsume came to like and anticipate Valentine's Day.

That day, Tanuma unexpectedly asked him if he wants to hang out at his house after school. But contrary to Natsume's cheery "Okay", their walk to Tanuma's house was filled with awkward silence. It wasn't that Natsume have problems talking to Tanuma. Tanuma was one of the few people he can talk to with ease and probably the one that understand him the most. It was just that… Tanuma was being fidgety for some reason.

"So you got 4 chocolates, huh?" Tanuma asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Ah, yeah. How did you know?"

"I overheard you guys during self-study period on my way to the teacher's office"

"I see…." The silence continued

"Uh.. what about you? Did you get any chocolate?" Natsume mentally cringed at his own attempt at conversation.

"No, I… I don't want chocolate from any girl" Tanuma answered in a voice barely loud enough to be heard.

Natsume himself didn't know what to say to that and settled for silence again despite his inexplicable urge to giggle in relieve. That would have been rude. The silence continued yet again.

"Do you like her?" Tanuma's question came out of nowhere, jolting Natsume back from his mussing about inexplicable urges and girl's giggles.

"Who?"

"Taki-san"

"No, she's just a friend"

"What about Sasada?"

"No way. Why are you asking suddenly anyway?"

Tanuma fell silent and it dawned on Natsume that he was still talking about the chocolate. Natsume felt another inexplicable urge to reassure Tanuma. From what, he wasn't sure himself. "I didn't get chocolate from anyone I like" he said in the end.

And just like that, the awkwardness was gone. Tanuma wasn't fidgety anymore and his next words came out in his normal playful tone.

"You know Natsume. I'd be upset if you get chocolate from a girl you like"

"What? That's sly! Just because you didn't get any chocolate, doesn't mean you get the right to wish me no chocolate as well." Natsume said, playfully punching Tanuma's shoulder. He didn't expect Tanuma to grab his hand as he launched his last punch.

The sight of Tanuma's face stopped him in the middle of his rant. Despite the playful tone and his softly smiling face, Tanuma's eyes were serious. In that moment, Natsume understood. Tanuma's nervousness, his questions, his answers and all the inexplicable urges Natsume had felt upon hearing them. Natsume understood. And as Tanuma's face grew closer, he closed his eyes and wait.

Natsume realized then, that he had grown to like Valentine's Day, quite a lot. It wasn't the chocolate nor was the girl who gave it to him that made the day special. It was the reminder that he wasn't alone anymore and that his friends were there to tease him about mundane stuff like who gets the chocolate from whom that made it special. And of course more than anything else, it was the memory of Tanuma's soft smile, the lingering warmth of Tanuma's hand on his wrist and the feel of soft lips pressing against his own.


End file.
